Oxford 3, Afton 3
OXFORD – Oxford went to a reliable veteran during a make-or-break stage of the game to force a tie with Afton in Tuesday’s key Section IV, Division II matchup.
Less than one minute after Afton’s Jessi Winans put her club on top, Erin Law was called upon by Oxford to knot the contest. An Afton player was whistled for intentionally kicking the ball in the penalty circle, and the foul automatically rewards the offensive team with a penalty stroke. Law delivered – again.
Law scored with 58 seconds left to force overtime, and it was her fourth successful penalty stroke this season. “She’s just very consistent and can hit almost any corner,” said Oxford coach Missy Chrystie, who said there was never any question which player would take the penalty stroke. “There was a lot of pressure on Erin, but she came through in the clutch.”
Oxford trailed 1-0 early after a Winans goalie – one of three for the Crimson Knights sophomore – but regained the lead at halftime getting two tallies from Christi Baker. “Afton’s a great team, and to come away with a tie, we kind of stole one (a goal) back from them,” Chrystie said.
Oxford (4-0-2, 6-3-2) hosts Hancock Thursday.
Summary
Goals-assists: (A) Jessica Winans, 3-0. (O) Christi Baker, 2-0, Erin Law, 1-0, Danielle Murphy, 0-1, Vanessa Pierson, 0-1.
Shots-corners: (A) 7-8, (O) 8-8.
Saves: (A) Kailee Granger, 6, (O) Alyshia Crawford, 4.
S-E 4, Hamilton 1
SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville won its fourth straight Center State Conference game, and the Marauders have not lost since the finals of the S-E Tournament nearly three weeks ago.
Courtney Kurtz celebrated her 18th birthday with two goals late in the first half to put the Marauders (4-1, 8-2) on top 3-0 at halftime. Karli Harris and Danielle Green added goals for S-E, who play at Little Falls Thursday. “It was a physical game and not as clean as we would have liked,” said S-E coach Sheila Cooman, who said her club felt the effects of playing back-to-back games in the second half. “They were beating us to a few balls that we would normally win.”
Summary
(3-0 at half)
Goals-assists: (H) Kati Baker, 1-0, Jenna Schell, 0-1. (SE) Karli Harris, 1-0, C. Kurtz, 2-0, Danielle Green, 1-1, S. Crandall, 0-1, Bree Neisinger, 0-1.
Shots-corners: (H) 4-3, (SE) 10-8.
Saves: (H) Megan VanAuken, 4, (SE) Kelsie Terrell, 3.
Boys’ Soccer
Unadilla Valley 5, B-G 1
BAINBRIDGE – Unadilla Valley answered an early deficit with five straight goals to win its fourth straight game Tuesday.
Fred Hutchinson headed in a pass from Jimmy Jachim to tie the game with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Mike Bluy and Raffi Perry added goals over the next five minutes to open a two-goal halftime advantage. “We had some good combination goals today,” said UV coach Matt Osborne. “We came out flat, and having six days off I thought we would be.”
Josh Norris scored unassisted for B-G who fell to 4-8 overall.
Perry finished with two goals and two assists for the Storm (5-3), who host unbeaten Delhi Thursday.
Summary
(3-1 at half)
Goals-assists: (B) Josh Norris, 1-0. (UV) Fred Hutchinson, 1-0, Mike Bluy, 1-0, Raffi Perry, 2-2; Jimmy Jachim, 1-1.
Shots-corners: (B) 8-7, (UV) 17-8.
Saves: (B) Jeremy Gray, 11, (UV) Derek Schoonover, 6.
Delhi 6, Oxford 2
OXFORD – Delhi poured it on in a stellar second half against Oxford to remain unbeaten and close in on its first MAC division title.
Alex Throssell had a hat trick including two first-half goals that had the Bulldogs up 3-2. Eddie Reed, Nick Meehan and Throssell tacked on unanswered second-half tallies for Delhi. “We controlled the midfield, and normally the game is won or lost there,” said Oxford coach Tim Paden. “Once we tried to form an attack, they were just so quick to the ball. It was frustrating.”
Oxford was able to keep pace for 45 minutes getting goals from Scott Seiler and Tyler Stoddard. The wear and tear of two hard-fought tournament games last weekend caught up with the Blackhawks, Paden said. “Things looked promising at the end of the first half, but I think we spent ourselves quite a bit over the weekend,” he said.
Oxford is at Sidney Thursday.
Summary
(3-2 at half)
Goals-assists: (D) Alex Throssell, 3-1, Avery Meehan, 1-1, Nick Meehan, 1-0, Eddie Reed, 1-0, Jason Little, 0-1, Ryan Taylor, 0-1. (O) Scott Seiler, 1-0, Tyler Stoddard, 1-0.
Shots-corners: (D) 15-6, (O) 7-3.
Saves: (D) Pat Cobane, 2, (O) Tom Gould, 3, Scott Seiler, 3.
